How the Thunder transformed from a regular season overlord to a stronger presence

Hartenstein exhausted Jokic with his 7-foot-tall, 250-pound figure, actively fought for rebounds on both sides of the offense and defense, and repeatedly hit signature-style board-wiping shots, which made the Thunder less embarrassed when it comes to defensive rotation and double-teaming. He successfully resisted Jokic's multiple back-to-back singles, and in the duo of Jokic and Jamal Murray, he always stood tightly against Jokic, successfully curbing Jokic's short-range cut that has been tried and done for many years.

Most people who follow the NBA know that when Presti brought in two powerful veterans for the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team became extremely threatening. The joining of these two veterans is as if it was carefully created in the laboratory, which can make up for the shortcomings of the team last season. However, there is a huge difference between building a competitive team under the salary cap limit and seeing it really work in the brutal playoffs. The Thunder aren't a champion yet, but after beating the Nuggets in a way that forces themselves to stay calm in multiple extremely unfavorable situations, they're finally closer to the championship than ever.